Words
by Winter Sapphire
Summary: No matter how hard he looked at it, how often he repeated it, the word 'uncle' never seemed to register with him. It was just... a word. Just a simple word. Oh, how he wished it was just a simple word. Peter x Claire, canon, which means 'cesty ; one-shot.


**Disclaimer**: Don't own, sorry. If I did, Peter and Claire would happen.

* * *

Peter's eyes were bloodshot as he stared at the screen of his laptop, the words on it burning a hole in his mind that he knew wouldn't go away anytime soon. They sat in his mind like lead, and for a moment it vaguely reminded him of having the weight of nearly blowing up New York on his shoulders.

_Genetic sexual attraction (GSA) is sexual attraction between close relatives who first meet as adults._

_Oh, God_. Peter shook his head, trying and failing to clear his mind of... _that_. He had thought researching it online would have made him realize what a sick freak he really was, not provide some sort of medical term that only made it seem like he was justified, like it was normal.

Because it _wasn't _normal. It was wrong. It was wrong on so many levels that he couldn't even begin to describe how utterly wrong and... _wrong_ it was.

Claire trusted him. She trusted him with her entire mind and body and heart, with every ounce of her being. He was her hero, her friend... her uncle. Why the hell was that so hard for him to understand? No matter how hard he looked at it, how often he repeated it, the word _uncle_ never seemed to register with him. It was just... a word. Just a simple word.

Oh, how he wished it was just a simple word.

With a defeated sigh, Peter shut his laptop, setting it gently on the coffee table. Blinking slowly, he turned his gaze upwards and stared blankly at the ceiling, allowing himself to sink into the cushions of the sofa. He sat like that for a while, his mind as blank as it could get with the rest of the world silent to his ears.

And he tried, he really did, to keep his mind from wandering back to his _niece_ (it seemed that particular word didn't work for him either), but in the end all he could picture was that soft, sad smile that barely reached her gentle blue-green eyes. All he could hear was the echoing sound of her rare laughter, the quiet murmurings of her voice. All he could feel was...

Peter cringed, shaking his head as he tried to clear the images from his mind. "I am so going to hell."

"Oh, really? What for?"

Peter jumped in surprise, bolting into an upright sitting position as his eyes landed on the person that he had known belonged to the voice the second she had spoken. "C-Claire!"

Claire's lips quirked upwards slightly in amusement for just a second as she raised her hands up to her head, "M-me." She laughed lightly to herself as she approached Peter, settling hesitantly onto the couch next to him. "Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you."

Peter swallowed thickly as his eyes followed her movements, and he shook his head. Fate sure did like to mess with him, didn't it? "No - no. You didn't. I mean - you did, but it's all right. I just didn't know anyone else was still awake."

"I wasn't expecting anyone else to be up either," Claire told him, propping her feet up on the table as she glanced at him, "but it was a pleasant surprise. So, tell me..." she poked him gently in the ribs, "what are you going to hell for _this_ time, Peter?"

Peter barked out a single laugh, shaking his head, "Nothing that would interest you, I'm sure." _Even though it has everything to do with you._ "Why are you up?"

Claire blinked, glancing quickly off to the side, "Oh, I just couldn't sleep." She shrugged. "Y'know."

"Y'know." Peter nodded his agreement, unable to help the smile that appeared on his face at the small blush crossing over her cheeks. It meant nothing, he told himself, but for some reason he couldn't help but revel in knowing he had somehow caused it.

The quiet settled over them again suddenly as each simply enjoyed the other's company. Claire stared at her hands, turning them over and over again in her lap, as Peter renewed his interest in the ceiling.

Eventually, Claire's gaze drifted its way back towards Peter, her eyes shyly regarding the man and his silent determination to win a staring contest with a surface that had no eyes. When she spoke, her voice was so soft she could barely even hear it herself. "Hey, Peter?"

"Mmm?" Peter blinked the daze out of his eyes, turning his head slightly to look at her. "What's up?"

"I was just wondering - when you... how..." Claire groaned, shaking her head in exasperation, "Oh, nevermind. It's stupid."

"Hey." The edge in Peter's voice made Claire glance back at him, and she found herself staring into his deep, brown eyes, heavy with sincerity and something she didn't dare to even try to name. "Listen to me, Claire: Nothing - _nothing_ - you say... could ever be stupid. Okay?" She found herself unable to answer right away, settling instead for a small nod. "Good." He thumped his hand lightly against her shoulder, his smile soft and warm, "Now, ask."

"I just..." Claire found herself looking away again, "When you found out that you were my uncle..." Peter fought the urge to cringe. There was that word again. "... when you found out... what did you feel?"

"I-" Peter blinked, sitting himself up straight and bending forward slightly, "How did I feel?" God, how was he supposed to answer that? Peter dared to look back at Claire, finding her eyes locked on him with a strange look of expectancy that he knew he couldn't ignore. He sighed, letting himself slump back into the couch, "I... I don't know. Shocked. Surprised... and I guess, in a way, not surprised at the same time." Off Claire's confused expression, he shrugged. "It's complicated."

"Well, I'm listening."

"I dunno, I guess... I guess that I just realized that, with everything that was happening, not much could take me by surprise. I mean, destiny had been screwing around with me for a while. Fate has changed the course of my life so many times that... when I found out Nathan was your father - bio-dad, whatever you call him - it just... it kind of made sense, that destiny or fate or whatever would want to screw around with me again." Claire's face fell slightly and Peter instantly regretted his words. "Not like that! God, Claire, I don't know what I'd be doing right now if I'd never met you."

Claire offered him a wry half-smile, "You'd probably be dead." Peter laughed quietly at that, shaking his head lightly before he nodded in agreement.

"Probably." He paused slightly, watching her for a second before he prompted, "... That wasn't the answer you were looking for, though, was it?"

And all of a sudden, just like that, her eyes were boring into his, fierce and heavy with emotion he couldn't quite understand, or maybe didn't want to. Peter felt his mouth go dry, his body unconsciously leaning towards her until he found his bangs dusting over her face. His pulse quickened and his breath hitched without his consent, and somewhere in the back of his mind Peter noticed the pressure of her hand clutching at his shirt.

"God, Claire-"

"Peter-"

The feel of her breath against his lips was too much, and before Peter could even think about what he was doing his lips found her's. Soft and hesitant, he kissed her slowly, his body shaking with all the pent up emotions he had been keeping inside of him. He felt her respond with just as much fervency, and he couldn't help but laugh slightly against her mouth.

"I am so going to hell."

He murmured it against her, raising his hand to wind through her hair, and he felt her smile into him.

"At least you'll have company."

It should've felt wrong, this display of love among family, but to them it didn't matter what words would have been thrown in their faces, be it uncle or niece or something entirely different, because in the end it never really was important.

After all, they were just a couple of simple words.

* * *

Ahhhhh, I did it! ... I think. Gods, this one was harder to write for some reason. Maybe I should stick to present-tense for Paire stories. It seems to work better... but whatever. I like this.

There's a bug on my laptop... the six-legged kind, not a virus.

Anyway, I just want to let you guys know it's 2 AM and I'm not tired at all, though as soon as I'm done this I'm sure I will be. To the reviewers of _Undeniable Truth_: thank you, you gave me a bit of confidence. Inspiration hit me again, and though it took me a couple of days and many late-nights to finish this I think (hope) it was worth it, and it's not disappointing.

Oh, yeah, and when I first got the idea for this I was going to make it full of humor with Claire coming up on Peter and reading over his shoulder and trying to figure out which member of the family he was in love with, leaving him embarrassed and confused (and all the while she knew it was her and she's just playing around with him). ... But it obviously didn't turn out that way. ... Just thought you should know.

Uh, yeah. So, I'll have my computer read this to me once more and proofread, then... yeah.

Reviews are like crack. Addicting and leaving you wanting more.

Or is that heroin? I dunno, I'm not a drugs person... but I do appreciate the reviews, a lot, despite the comparison to something I don't appreciate all that much.

Spirits, I need to stop writing late at night.

- WS


End file.
